In-depth inquiry into AlliedSignal/Honeywell merger - aerospace and automative products
In-depth inquiry into AlliedSignal/Honeywell merger - aerospace and automative products
The Commission has decided to open an in-depth investigation into the acquisition by Allied Signal Inc. of Honeywell Inc., both US firms. The initial investigation has shown that the merger may lead to the creation or strengthening of a dominant position on one or more markets for avionics products, but these have to be subject to a further investigation. The Commission has four months from now to take a final decision. AlliedSignal is a manufacturing company with operations in the aerospace, automotive products and engineered materials businesses. Honeywell is an international controls company that develops and supplies advanced technology products, systems and services for homes and buildings, for industrial applications and for the aerospace industry. The main overlap of the companies’ activities is in so-called avionics products which are supplied to the aviation industry and to the defence industries. Those products are generally found in cockpits, such as the communication and navigation equipment of an aircraft. Customers in this sector are manufacturers of all types of aircraft (including helicopters) as well as airlines, which “retrofit” products into their aeroplanes.
The Commission has spotted the risk of one or more dominant positions in the EEA. An in-depth investigation is necessary because the market definition in this sector has proven to be a complex exercise and secondly, because the merger may have larger implications for the overall structure of the industry. (IP/99/645)
